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My client would be interested in taking some of them on as it’s a busy time of year for them, but is there anything in particular they need to think about when employing people under the age of 18 ?
A. Employing children and young workers can be especially useful if your client has shorter shifts that older workers do not want, due to restrictions on working hours for young people.
But there are a number of things your client will need to take into consideration before offering work to under 18’s. There are certain rules and requirements under the law for “young workers” i.e. those who no longer have to be in full time education (or school leaving age, around 16 and under 18) and “children” i.e. those aged between 14 and required to be in full time education (under school leaving age).
Firstly, your client will need to check the ages of those applying to work before deciding on any rotas, schedules, pay rates or what they will be asking these young people to do.
In terms of pay, only those aged 16 and over are owed minimum wage. If any of the young people are below this, your client can decide on an appropriate pay rate for them, although they should bear in mind they might lose the worker to another employer if they set this too low.
The rules for “children”
If your client takes on someone who is a child, they will need to register them with their local authority.
Children can be employed doing “light work”, that does not risk their health, safety or development. This can include:
• delivering newspapers
• shop work, such as stacking shelves
• work in a restaurant or café (but not kitchen work)
• car washing
• work in hairdressing salons
• office work
• domestic work in hotels or other accommodation
• occasional agricultural or horticultural work.
They cannot work in an “industrial undertaking” such as manufacturing, construction, transportation or warehousing, nor can they work in almost any form of gambling.
During term time, children are limited to working 12 hours a week, and only 2 hours a day during the week and on all Sundays. They can only work between 7 am and 7 pm and must have an hours’ break if their shift lasts for more than four hours. They must also have two weeks together as annual leave each year.
14 year olds are limited to working for a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays and in the holidays, and no more than 25 hours a week in the holidays.
15 and 16 year olds (but under school leaving age) can work for 35 hours a week in the holidays, and for eight hours a day on Saturdays and during the holidays.
The rules for “young workers”
Young workers can participate in a wider scope of tasks. However, additional health and safety risk assessments should be completed, taking into consideration their potential lack of maturity and knowledge.
Young workers are subject to the rules under the Working Time Regulations 1998 and so get standard annual leave entitlement.
There are however different requirements for their breaks and working hours than there are for adult workers, such as a 30-minute break for shifts over 4.5 hours, two days off a week and a maximum 40 hour working week with a 12 hour daily rest break.
